WASHINGTON D.C., DC — A hall-of-fame songwriter, who penned hits for Carrie Underwood and Kenny Chesney, has died after the plane he was in crashed near an elementary school Thursday, officials confirmed.

Brett James was 57.

James was a 2020 inductee into the National Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The hall of fame confirmed his death in a Facebook post Friday morning.

"We mourn the untimely loss of Hall of Fame member Brett James (“Jesus Take The Wheel” / “When The Sun Goes Down”), a 2020 inductee who was killed in a small-engine airplane crash on Sept. 18," the post reads.

James was inducted to the hall of fame for his work writing Underwood's hit song "Jesus, Take the Wheel," which had multiple Grammy nominations and catapulted her into mainstream fame. The song, along with other catchy

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